The body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died while in Russian captivity, has been returned to Ukraine, Deputy Interior Minister Leonid Tymchenko confirmed in an interview published on Wednesday by Censor.NET.
Roshchyna’s remains were transferred during a recent prisoner exchange and identified through DNA testing, Tymchenko said.
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The 27-year-old journalist was captured by Russian forces in August 2023 in Enerhodar, a city in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region occupied in the early days of the full-scale invasion.
At the time of her detention, Roshchyna was working as a freelance reporter for Ukrainska Pravda, preparing a story from the occupied territory.
According to the investigative documentary “Vicky’s Last Assignment,” she was said to have been held for several months in various detention centers and pretrial facilities across occupied Ukraine and Russia. A detainee, who briefly shared a cell with her, told investigators that Roshchyna was subjected to torture in Melitopol.
She was later transferred to a detention facility in Taganrog, Russia, where she was allegedly hidden from inspections. Reports indicate that Roshchyna’s health severely deteriorated – she weighed just 30 kilograms (66 pounds) and could no longer walk unaided.
She was expected to be included in a prisoner exchange planned for September 2024, but her name was not among those returned. Russian authorities later admitted she had died in custody.
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